


Legend of the Silver Bells

by TheReviewess



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Frozen (2013), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Good!Hans, Helsa Friendship, Set in Johto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-14 10:20:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3407036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheReviewess/pseuds/TheReviewess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elsa and Hans, the Golden Duo of the Johto League vanished during the Battle at Indigo Plateau. Among the burned, frozen and elecrocuted bodies that scattered the field, they could not be found. Now three years later, 18 year old Anna sets off on her Pokemon Journey to achieve her sister's dream of becoming a Pokemon Master and hopefully dig up clues as to what happened to her dear sister Elsa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, have another Elsanna story that I've been working on. It is set in Johto and many Disney characters will be seen here. Ethan the Renegade is assisting me as my idea guy. I'll be pulling a lot from the Pokemon Anime and video games while adding my own twists on things. In this story Kalos and Mega Evolution is NOT a thing. I started writing it before I played X and Y so sorry about that. But anywho~ welcome!

"And here is the match of the year! Childhood rivals Elsa Silverbell and Hans Westerland are back in the arena to duke it out for the second time in a professional setting. Some of you may remember three years ago at the Johto League when the two first faced off. Young Miss Silverbell had won that match. Now will history repeat itself? Will Elsa Silverbell keep her winning streak? Only time will tell!"  
-Three Years Ago; Kanto Pokemon League

Ever since she was a child, all Anna wanted to do was be a Pokémon Master. All kids want to be Pokémon Masters when they are young. But at eighteen years old, Anna still held on to her dream. Being the second child, she was made to stay at home and help out around the house. Instead, her sister Elsa had gone off to become a trainer. It had been eleven years since Elsa had left New Bark Town. Every day Anna worried about her sister. She would watch the news just to try and catch a glimpse of that platinum blonde hair and her trusty Glaceon.

Frowning, Anna turned off the television and sighed. Nothing about Elsa, like usual. Last she had heard of her sister, she was in Kanto to take on the Pokémon League. That was three years ago. The finals had come down to Elsa and a man named Hans. Anna had remembered him because the two had faced off back in the Johto League where Elsa had won when she was fifteen. Apparently they were best friends. Even after the Johto battle and Hans' loss, he still hugged her sister and spun the blonde around happily. Anna would have been lying if she said she hadn't thought they were a couple. They acted so couple-y on the TV.

The last recording of Elsa alive was an interview from right before the battle. Then right after, chaos struck in the form of Team Rocket. Televisions and radios alike went dead from some sort of explosive blast. The next day, the news had reported that Team Rocket was back. Their initial plans had been thwarted by some strong trainers. Unfortunately there were also many casualties. Neither Elsa and Hans had been among the identified bodies. That thought alone gave Anna hope that her sister was alive.

A loud knocking at the door pulled Anna out of her thoughts. "Anna! Kristoff is here!" Instantly Anna leaped to her feet and raced down the steps. There at the door stood her best friend Kristoff. Outside she could see his Sawsbuck, Sven, poking his head out from behind the massive blonde male. Sven was in his Summer Form. That meant that his antlers had massive green leaves sprouting from them. They were great for shade.

Kristoff was a massive fellow. He had blonde scruffy hair that was covered by a black beanie cap. He was incredibly muscular and he hardly fit through Anna's door! The man was wearing dark brown work boots with black pants. His shirt was a simple white one but he wore a brown fur lined coat over it. His golden eyes were focused on Anna.

"Hi Kris! Hey Sven! You ready to go?" Anna called out happily. Today Anna now had the chance to go on her Pokémon journey and she was ready! Anna, like Kristoff, was dressed in boots, but they were black. She wore jean shorts that came down to just above her knees. She had a black tank top with a magenta zip up sweatshirt over it. Her bright red hair was put in its typical twin braids on either side of her head.

"You bet! What about you and Joan?" At the mention of her partner, Anna turned her head to see a Leafeon bounding down the steps. Anna and Elsa had been given Eevees when they were children. Anna's was named Joan while Elsa had named hers Snowflake. Snowflake was what her father called a Shiny pokémon. They were very rare, which was why Elsa had gotten it. Anna didn't mind that Elsa got the shiny one. She still loved Joan no matter what.

"Alright! Let's go!" Grabbing her brown backpack, Anna swung it over her shoulder and raced out the door with Joan at her side. Their first stop was the Pokémon Lab where her father worked as the Pokémon Professor. Thankfully it was right next to her house.

Anna kicked the door open enthusiastically (Startling all the other scientists) and raced to the back where her father waited in this white lab coat. The man hardly had time to prepare himself before his daughter leaped into his arms. "DAD TODAY'S THE DAY!" Anna hollered excitedly.

The tall man laughed and spun his daughter happily. He had sandy brown hair with a thin mustache. His hair was cut very close to his head, resembling that of a military high and tight that many men and boys wore when Anna was younger. "Yes it is, Anna. Today you and Kristoff can get your Pokédex and you two can go off and be official trainers." He released Anna and set her down on the ground. The man turned and picked up two bright red objects.

"This is your Pokédex. With these, you can record data about every pokémon you meet. I'm sure you know this by now, so I won't bother giving you a speech about it." Both Kristoff and Anna laughed at that. Both had practically lived in the lab as children, helping out Anna's father, Agdar. After Elsa had left, the two spent more and more time in the lab. At this rate, they were pretty well off in pokémon knowledge.

"Thanks Professor Silverbell." Kristoff said while he put his Pokédex in his pockets of his pants.

"And since you both already have pokémon, you aren't getting starter pokémon. You can catch the rest on your own!" Normally new trainers were given pokémon at the start of their journey. Kristoff had received Sven the deerling at age six from his Grandfather, Pabbie. Since both he and Anna had pokémon, it was pointless to give them another one.

"Come on dad! Please!" Anna begged, but her father and Kristoff just laughed at the redhead. Despite being the Professor's daughter, she didn't get special privileges.

"Sorry Anna, you already have a pokémon. I didn't give Elsa a pokémon either." Anna grumbled out some nonsense that sounded like 'you let her leave earlier than me though' but no one could be sure. "Now you two better get going before Idun decides to keep you here longer."

Anna gasped and put her Pokédex away. "Oh my gosh! You're right! Come on, Kris! Let's get out of here!" Poor Kristoff didn't have a chance to prepare himself before Anna grabbed him and dragged him out of the lab. Behind them, Professor Silverbell was just laughing.

Once they were outside the lab, they nearly ran into Anna's mother, Idun. Her big blue eyes had tears in them. Normally her hair was tied up in an intricate bun but this time it was just in a ponytail with her brown bangs pushed aside.

"Hi mom…" Anna mumbled out, looking down at the ground. Even Kristoff, Sven and Joan had to look away from the teary eyed woman.

"Oh look at you two… All grown up and ready to go on your own pokémon adventure." The woman choked out with a smile. She wiped her tears away and hugged her youngest daughter. "I know you'll be fine though."

"Thanks mom." Anna replied with a grin. She hugged her mother back and buried her face in her mother's neck. It had finally hit Anna that she was leaving home on her own adventure. It was bittersweet almost. She would miss the familiarity of New Bark Town, but it was time for this little button to earn her place in the sky. This little button was going to fly.

Idun patted her head and finally pulled away. "Alright you two. Now I have your Pokégear, black for Kristoff and pink for Anna." The two trainers took their Pokégear and attached it to their wrists. "Now I've programed my number, Agdar's number and Bulda and Pabbie's number. They expect you two to visit when you get near Goldenrod City." Kristoff groaned at the thought of visiting his extended family. Anna knew that they were very loud and excitable like his family in New Bark Town. They were Pokémon Breeders who were very well known over Johto.

"What about Elsa's number, mom?" Anna asked curiously. As she flipped through the numbers in the Pokégear, she couldn't find Elsa's anywhere. It was just her mother, father, Kris and his family. Elsa's number was nowhere to be found.

At first, Idun didn't answer Anna. Instead she seemed to be lost in thought. After a moment, she gently took Anna's arm and programmed her older sister's number into the Pokégear. "Don't expect her to pick up. I've tried calling time and time again and she never responds."

Anna nodded a few times. Her sister didn't answer any mail that the family sent either. Half the time their poor Pidgeotto couldn't even find Elsa. When he did, he always came back with no letter. During those last three years of her sister's disappearance, Pidgeotto couldn't find her at all. They still held onto hope that she was alive though.

"Thanks mom…"

"It's no problem, dearie. Now you two get going. You have an adventure to go on. I've kept you from it long enough. Go enjoy the world." Idun told the two while smiling.

"We will. Bye mom! And If I see Elsa, I'll kick her butt and make her come home!" Anna replied. She and Kristoff both waved to the woman before Sven and Joan nudged the two out of the town. Their pokémon adventure had finally begun.

Behind them, Idun waved and smiled sadly. Her daughter was the only one in their small family who still believed Elsa was alive. Even with all of Agdar's contacts all over the world, there was still no sight of Elsa. She was last seen at the Indigo Plateau, fighting Team Rocket. After the fight, Elsa's body was nowhere to be found. Some said she was captured by Team Rocket; there were others who believed that she and her pokémon were burned to an unidentifiable crisp. Rumors said that the Rockets had used legendary pokémon and they had killed almost every trainer there. No one told Anna that, of course. They let her believe that her sister had gone missing.

.  
.  
.

Deep below in the ruins of the Brass Tower in Ecruteak City, a blonde woman was waiting there. The sun had gone down and the stars covered the sky. The woman lay back with her arms bracing her head. Her long blonde locks were held in a very loose French braid with her bangs falling over her face. Despite being under the ground level, she could feel the wind tickling her skin.

The woman wore a black billed cap on her head with black knee high boots, with a black shorter skirt and a black long sleeve shirt. The shirt had a large bright red R on the front. The clothes were the signature outfit of Team Rocket. The team had made a comeback three years ago at the Pokémon League in Kanto. Since then, recruitment numbers have skyrocketed (no pun intended). Rockets slowly took over the cities. It was becoming far more common to men and women with shirt bearing the massive red 'R' that the team was known for.

Judging by how carelessly the woman acted, she seemed to be a higher up in the Rocket Society. Her outfit wasn't a typical Rocket one. Along with her Rocket clothing, she had white gloves with a white belt. Black lined her eyelids, bringing out her long lashes and big blue eyes.

A sudden gust of wind startled her. Instantly the woman sat up and placed her hand on her waist to grab a pokéball from her party. A playful snort brought the woman back to reality. 

"You startled me." She finally said before cracking a smile.

"That was not my intention." A calm male voice echoed through her mind.

"I know you didn't." She replied with a smile on her face. "I just started to fall asleep and you woke me up." The woman crossed her legs and looked up at the large figure.

"I apologize for waking you. I assume you do not get much sleep on your current mission."

"I don't. But it's worth it if we can help stop their plans." The blonde explained.

"I suppose I will have to agree with you… Where might Hans be?"

"He's covering for me. Can't let The Duke in on what he and I have been working on." Hans, the auburn haired man had been her rival since they were children on their pokémon journey. Many wouldn't believe the two to be rivals, given how friendly they were with each other. One could call their rivalry more of a friendly one than a serious one. The Duke was the current leader of Team Rocket. No one knew his real name; they just called him "Duke."

"Do you have any news so far?" Two silver colored tendrils could be seen flowing to the side of the figure. They moved with the wind in a graceful manner.

"Not much. From what Hans and I have figured out, they want to try and summon Lugia and Ho-oh." A low growl could be heard but the woman continued. "Somehow they plan to use you three. Which is why the captured you the last time. They feel that with you three and Lugia and Ho-oh, they can essentially rule the world."

"That is just for this region, correct?"

"Yes. We have a partner in the Kanto region looking into what Team Rocket is planning over there. They are also working closely with teams from other areas of the globe. I have reports of Team Magma and Team Aqua of Hoenn, Team Plasma of Sinnoh and Team Galactic of Unova as well. From what I understand, Team Rocket plans to take over those teams so they can be supreme rulers of the world. My contacts in Kanto are working to prevent that."

"It is worse than we have anticipated then… Are they trustworthy, your contacts?" Red eyes flashed nervously in the moonlight. Teeth were bared at the creatures massive paws began to knead at the burnt ground.

"I met them at the Johto League. The two are from Hoenn. Jack and Tooth are trustworthy. Jack may be a bit of a joker but he has a good heart. Tooth keeps him in line. They definitely will be able to thwart Team Rocket. I'm working on getting connections with Trainers currently in Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova."

I will trust your judgment, Elsa. I am sure you will do the right thing.

"Thanks Suicune… Do you think Ho-oh and Lugia will appear though?" Elsa asked curiously. "If Team Rocket somehow manages to catch you all again and Hans and I can't save you… Will they…?" That battle was the most intense one that Elsa had ever been involved with. To this day, she still had nightmares about it. Since then, she abandoned her old life and pursued a new one. One that will protect the legendary beasts from Team Rocket.

"Ho-oh will only appear to a trainer whose heart is pure. As will we. Even with us captured, a trainer who is not worthy will not make the birds of legend appear." The massive pokémon pressed his muzzle to the top of Elsa's hat. The young blonde smiled and relaxed into his touch. He nudged her head closer to him so that she was leaning against the white fur of his chest. "You and Hans have been marked as Trainers with pure hearts, so worry not my Aurora."

"You always know what to say to make me feel better." Elsa told the Suicune as she gently ran her fingers over the soft white fur. "Is that all, a trainer pure of heart?"

"Of course I do." It replied in an amused tone. The beast lifted its muzzle and sat down in front of the blonde woman. "I have worked with you for three years, Elsa. I think I know you well enough." Elsa's head was still pressed against its massive chest. "There are many requirements to make Lugia and Ho-oh to appear. Do not worry. Their power will not fall into the wrong hands."

"Alright, my friends. I'll take your word..." A small yawn passed Elsa's lips causing a chuckle to rumble through the blue Pokémon's chest.

"Come. Let me take you to your base. Perhaps you can still get a good night's sleep." The Suicune rose to its paws and gestured to Elsa to get on his back. Using the large hexagonal shape crest which rested on the Pokémon's head, Elsa swung up onto the creature. Her gloved hand parted the purple mane so that she could see around her companion.

"I'm ready when you are." Elsa called up, her hands gripping at the purple mane tightly. She had learned from experience that the blue pokémon was incredibly fast.

With a massive gust of wind, the two were off into the night. Though no one could make out the two as they ran; the blur of blue and purple was enough for speculation to rise. After three years, Suicune had finally been spotted


	2. Chapter 2

Anna and Kristoff had decided it was best to stop in Cherrygrove City for the night. They had arrived in the evening after they had been happily racing through Route 29, battling wild pokémon and scrounging up berries. Anna was battling and Kristoff was looking for berries as well as apricorns. While Anna didn't see the use of apricorns, Kristoff still collected them. That night they had stayed in Cherrygrove City's Pokémon Center. It was nice and quiet until a trainer burst in screaming about the news.

"Hey guy! Did you hear did you hear?!" It was a female's voice which woke them up.  
Instantly Anna woke up and rolled off her bed in shock. Thankfully Joan was only at the foot of her bed so she didn't fall off. Instead the Leafeon looked up at the rather excited trainer curiously. Kristoff woke up startled but he didn't jump off his bed like his companion. Instead he rolled onto his stomach and looked up at the other female with sleepy eyes.

"Oh, sorry for wakin' ya but we got big news." The trainer explained. She had bright read curly locks of hair. They were pulled pack into a low ponytail. "One of the legendary dogs, Suicune has been sighted in Ecruteak City!" She was clearly excited but both Anna and Kristoff were too tired to understand why.

"Legendary what now?" Anna asked, still slowly waking up. She was tangled up in blankets on the ground. Her stomach rested against the cool tile. The tired woman rested her elbows and forearms against the floor and looked up at the awake and dressed trainer that was at the door.

"What do you mean legendary dog?" Kristoff asked curiously, more awake than Anna. "And how do you have proof of that? I thought the Legends kept away from humans?" His blonde hair was going every which way but his bedhead wasn't nearly as terrible as Anna's.

"Man you are new…" The young trainer replied, crossing her arms. She had rolled her big blue eyes and snorted at their lack of knowledge. "Haven't you heard the stories of Suicune, Entei and Raikou?"

"No." Both Anna and Kristoff replied with dull sleepy tones. "We know more about pokémon eggs and proper nutrition for pokémon." Kristoff added to make them seem less stupid. They didn't bother wasting time on legends; most of the time they were working with Professor Silverbell in the lab.

"Well you all get up and I'll tell you 'bout 'em over some breakfast." With that the redhead was gone and Anna and Kristoff were alone in their room.

It was Anna who moved first. She picked herself off the cool tile floors and went to sit on the bed. Her hair was a Rattata's nest if Kristoff could say so. By now he was smart enough not to say anything about the younger Silverbell's hair. He already had enough bruises from where she used to hit him. Instead he dug through his bag and passed her a brush. Anna accepted the brush and silently started getting ready.

While Anna did her hair, Kristoff showered and quickly got ready. Once he was finished, Anna had thankfully put her clothes all on. She wasn't awake yet, but she was functioning. Until she had breakfast, she was probably going to be acting like a humanoid Snorlax. That meant it was up to Kristoff to get her out and ready. Thankfully Anna looked presentable enough.

"Alright Feisty Pants, you go grab breakfast." Kristoff told her. He handed the redhead her backpack and zip up hoodie. "I'll take care of everything else in here."

Anna grunted out her thanks and threw the hoodie on. She then took her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Let's go eat, Joan." At the mention of food, Joan became far more alert and the Leafeon practically raced out the room. Anna grinned and followed her.

Thankfully Joan was able to find the redheaded trainer from before. It was pretty easy actually. She was the only girl with crazy hair. With her was another girl, this one had what seemed to be black hair with streaks of silver (or was it blonde?) in them.

"There ya are sleepin' beauty! Took you long enough! Have a seat next to lil ol' Firefly and we can tell ya all 'bout them doggies." The woman said. Anna quickly took a seat next to them and Joan jumped up next to her. At her seat, Anna noted that there was a pretty good selection of food in front of her.

"Hey! A Leafeon! It's rare to see Sinnoh pokémon here in Johto." The redhead's partner said happily. She too had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, but her hair was straight and looked more manageable.

"Is it? My sister has a Glaceon." Anna replied, interested. Having not been out of New Bark Town, she hardly knew what the rest of Johto was like.

"Oh yeah, Sinnoh, Hoenn and Unova pokémon are hard to come by unless you meet trainers who have been there. Did you raise her from an Eevee?" Whoever this mystery girl was, she seemed very knowledgeable.

"Sure did! Joan and I have been best friends since I was a little girl! Oh, I'm Anna! Anna Silverbell!" She happily extended her hand to the girls. The redhead took it first, followed by the black haired girl.

"The daughter of the professor?" Now both girls were interested in Anna. It was the black haired one who spoke though. "The one who defeated the Johto League at fifteen too?"

"Oh no, that's my sister, Elsa." Anna replied quickly. Despite Elsa's disappearance, she was still clearly famous for her victory three years ago. "I'm the other daughter…"

"Ah, how is your sister? No one had heard of her since, well the accident."

"We don't know. We haven't seen her either." Anna replied. She rested her hands on the table and began to mess with her fingers. She didn't like to talk about Elsa. The table was silent for a few moments until a large figure sat down.

"Morning ladies, thanks for the wakeup call." Kristoff said to the curly redhead girl.

Both the redhead and the black haired girl laughed at his statement. "A good mornin' to you too! The name is Merida Dunbroch of Cianwood City!"

It was Anna who responded first. "Whoa! Your dad is the gym leader, right?" She had heard of Fergus Dunbroch and how he was an incredibly strong trainer.

"You know it!" Merida replied with a grin. "And this here is my best mate." She gestures to her partner who was grinning.

"Hey, I'm from Sinnoh actually. The name is Arya, but everyone calls me Firefly!" The girl explained happily.

"Oh! I'm Anna and this is Kristoff. We just started our journeying yesterday. But before that we helped out in my dad's lab." Anna explained to them.

"Professor Silverbell right," Anna nodded, "I think he knows my older sister, Rose, I mean Aurora!" Firefly said while bouncing around happily in her seat. Both Anna and Kristoff could see why she was called Firefly.

"Wait, Aurora as in the Champion of Sinnoh?" Kristoff asked the girl in shock.

"That's the one! She studies a lot about pokémon mythology and stuff on her off days. I kind of got roped into it when I was a kid. So yeah, you can call me your professional pokémon mythology walking encyclopedia, or PME for short!" Firefly replied with a grin.

"Yeah! My dad does know her. Apparently she's helped him a lot in his research over the past few years!" Anna replied, now happy that she was making connections with other trainers. Her father would be proud of her.

"I knew the name Silverbell sounded familiar!" Firefly laughed. "But let's get down to business! The Suicune sighting." The three others suddenly became serious. Making sure no one else was around, they leaned in closer to each other. Clearly this was sensitive news or something. "What do you all know of the incident at the Kanto Pokémon League?"

"Not much really…" Kristoff mumbled.

"Yeah. All we knew was there was an explosion and a lot of fire. Some trainers and their pokémon died because of Team Rocket and then some went missing." Anna replied, trying to recall it. She remembered being devastated that her sister had gone missing.

"You're right in some parts, but wrong too, lassie." Merida replied with a snarl. "My father was there. Lost his leg in the mess of it." Both Anna and Kristoff looked shocked at that statement. No one really knew how Fergus had lost his leg. Just after the incident, he came back with a wooden replacement. It was a huge story.

"Merida is right. Most everyone there was burned to a crisp. Bodies were unrecognizable." Firefly's voice was low and she had a scowl on her face. "Rose was there too. She managed to get out but she lost her Gastrodon in the battle."

"Did its… die?" Anna asked curiously.

"Yeah. Lots of pokémon did." Firefly's face turned into one of anger.

"How?" Kristoff asked, confused. This was news to them. This was news that all of New Bark Town would want to know.

"The three legendary dogs," Merida replied. "Apparently, Team Rocket had trapped them and captured 'em; Usin' them for their own gain and all. Raikou, Entei and Suicune are reincarnations and made by the Legendary Bird, Ho-oh." At the mention of the rainbow colored bird, Anna and Kristoff's eyes widened. They knew of Ho-oh as well as Lugia. The dogs were a different story though. "Raikou is the Thunder Pokémon; it races all around and has the ability to create storms. It is very protective of electric type pokémon. Entei is known for being able to cause volcanoes to erupt. Each time it roars, a volcano erupts. When a new volcano is made, an Entei is said to be born. Lastly we have Suicune. It had the ability to purify water. So it races around cleaning the water."

"So..?" Anna asked curiously, wondering what exactly this had to do with the story.

"So what happened was Team Rocket captured all three of the dogs! Using their power, they attacked the Pokémon League! But they were freed by someone and vanished right after. The big uproar is that Suicune was supposedly sighted in Ecruteak City last night." Merida said with excitement in her voice. "It's been three years and on one has seen neither hide nor hair of the beasts until now."

"So why so excited? Aren't they supposed to be elusive?" Kristoff asked curiously. He seemed to understand pokémon better than most humans. After all, his family was rather well known breeders.

"It's because that means they haven't been caught by Team Rocket again. So a lot of trainers are headed to Ecruteak City to see if they can do something to protect the dogs." Firefly explained.

That was news to Anna. While she would love to help, she only had Joan. Sure Joan was a strong pokémon, but Anna would at least like another pokémon before she attempted. Kristoff spoke again, drawing Anna out of her thoughts.

"I'm pretty sure they don't need help. I have a feeling they will be far more cautious now." The blonde replied crossing his arms.

"I told you they wouldn't be in, Merida." Firefly spoke, sitting back with her arms folded across her chest.

"Eh, it was worth a shot." Merida replied. "Well, keep your eye out for them. Can't let them get back into Team Rocket's hands now."

"We can do that!" Anna said to them with a smile. "Who know, maybe we will run into you again when we get to Ecruteak City!" The two other girls smiled at that statement and nodded.

"When you get there, give me a ring! Maybe we'll still be there!" Merida told Anna. She held out her Pokégear so that she could register Kristoff and Anna into hers. Unlike Anna's, Merida's Pokégear was a light blue and white. The two new trainers gave the redhead their numbers happily.

"Wait, what about Firefly?" Kristoff asked curiously, readying to get her number.

"Oh! I don't have Pokégear, I have my Pokétch. It's a Sinnoh thing. I'm still pretty new to Johto so I haven't gotten my Pokégear. So just use Merida to contact me." The girl explained. She stood up from the table and pulled out a pokéball. "But we've gotta dash. Nice meeting you!"

"You too!" Anna and Kristoff called. They watched the two females leave the pokémon center. Once the glass doors slid shut behind the girls, they could see them calling upon two pokémon. Anna recognized Merida's as a Pidgeot while Firefly's was a strange one she had never seen before. It was a dark grey, or maybe brown, with white markings. The head had a patch of red on it though. Within moments, both girls were flying on their pokémon off to what they assumed was Ecruteak City.

"That was a weird pokémon…" Anna mumbled, turning her attention to her food.

"That was just weird in general." Kristoff replied scarfing down anything he could. He and Anna were both known to be bottomless pits. "We better eat what we can now. It's gonna take us a few days to get to Violet City." Kristoff told Anna between bites of food. "I'll pack us what I can but we can't eat like this on the road." Anna simply nodded to him and continued eating. Beside her, Joan was also eating. The three of them silently enjoyed what would feel like their last full meal for a very long time.

.  
.  
.

Loaded with supplies from the PokéMart, Kristoff and Anna were making their way through Route 30 and Route 31. Sven was now out of his pokéball and traveling with the group. In the hot weather, the massive green leaves on his antlers provided some nice shade when they needed it. For the past three days they had been slowly making their way to Violet City. Kristoff was looking for his Apricorns and berries while Anna was battling wild pokémon and trainers left and right.

"You know Anna; you should probably catch another pokémon just so it isn't just you and Joan." Kristoff told her casually as the group sat about eating a small lunch. Kristoff had recently caught an Onyx when they had passed the Dark Cave. It was far too dark to explore but they ran into a lot of pokémon. "Having a Rock type like Onyx would be useful, especially if you want to challenge Zazu at the gym."

Anna rolled her eyes at Kristoff. "Joan and I can totally take him down with no problem!" She was extremely confident in her Pokémon's abilities… But maybe a second pokémon wouldn't hurt. "I'll take care of that later, no come on, Violet City isn't too far." Anna was right; Violet City was rather close to them.

After two hours, they two had walked through the gates to the city. It was very different than Cherrygrove. It seemed older. A large tower could be seen to the north that looked quite old. The houses and other buildings looked old as well. Only the Pokémon Center and probably the PokéMart were the more up to date buildings. But the traditional wooden buildings were charming in their own sort of way.

"Let's go to the Pokémon Center first so we can get rooms for the night." Kristoff told Anna. He was currently riding on Sven's back. The massive deer pokémon didn't seem to care though. Even Joan had hopped up on his back.

"Sounds good, then we can go explore!" Anna said with a grin. She was also happy that she would be able to get a shower than night too. The next day, maybe she could go challenge Zazu!

The Pokémon Center was far nicer than the one in Cherrygrove City. This one was much larger in size. It was still spotless, like all medical facilities and the typical smell of sanitation hung in the air. Upon entering, A Nurse Joy greeted them as well as a Chansey. It was the nurse who had given the two trainers a room for the night where they put down most of their traveling gear. Once they left, Kristoff and Anna only had their money, Trainer Cards and their other essentials. Sleeping bags and other traveling gear was left inside. Back out in the city, Kristoff and Anna decided to explore.

"They say that there is a Pokémon School here." Kristoff mentioned casually as they wandered the old streets. "Maybe we could go check it out, just to see if there is anything we can pick up." Hie eyes were focused on a map that was programed into his Pokégear. Right now Sven was resting in his pokéball as was Joan. So the two trainers were by themselves.

"Really?" Anna asked sarcastically. She raised one of her eyebrows and looked at him as if he was an idiot. "We practically lived in the Lab! I'm pretty sure no Pokémon School can teach me more than my dad did."

"You never know, Anna. There may be some good trainers there too."

"I bet Joan and I could take them down." Anna boasted loudly and confidently.

"That's pretty strong words, newcomer. Why don't you back them up?" Both Kristoff and Anna stopped walking when the voice called out. The duo turned to see a boy, probably sixteen, with his arms crossed. Like Anna he had red hair and was quite muscular like Kristoff.

"Right here, right now?" Anna asked with a smug grin on her face.

"No, Pokémon School. The Officers will kill us if we fight in the streets." The boy told them as if they were idiots.

"Alright, you take us there and you've got yourself a deal."

"Prepare to lose, newcomer."

.  
.  
.

The Pokémon School had a rather nice sized yard. No doubt this was where they did battle practice. On one side, Anna's challenger stood with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. On the other side, Anna stood the same way.

"Alright Anna, the match is two on two. Since you only have Joan right now, Sven has agreed to help you." Kristoff told her as he passed his partner the pokéball. "I have confidence that you and Joan will be fine, but just in case, you have back up."

"Just keep ahold of him for now. Joan and can handle this." Anna replied.

Finally attention turned to a younger boy who was rather large, particularly right in the middle. Next to him was a scrawny lanky boy. Both had ashy brown hair and wore pointed hats. They were to be the one who were in charge of the rules. The lanky boy explained that the match was a two on two match, and that it would end when both pokémon from either side cannot participate.

"Are you both ready?" Curt nods came from the two trainers. "Begin!"

The boy sent out his first pokémon: Rattata. "Let's go Rattata!"

As he did that, Anna called Joan out of her pokéball. The Leafeon took her place a few paces in front of Anna. She seemed quite determined to win. The crowd around them was in awe of the Sinnoh Pokémon, even the red haired boy. That distraction was all Anna needed to take the lead.

"The Quick Razor Combo!" Anna called out with a devious grin on her face. If Joan could have a shit-eating grin in her face, she would have been wearing it now. With a whip of her leaf-like head, Joan sent a spiral of leaves towards the Rattata. She quickly followed it up with a rapid movement toward the purple pokémon.

"Quick Rattata, Dodge and use Bite!" Unfortunately the Rattata was caught by the sharp leaves. Once Joan made impact from the Quick Attack, the rat pokémon used its massive front teeth to deliver its powerful bite.

A cry of pain came from Joan, which angered Anna. "Grass Whistle! It will make it let go!" Just as Anna had predicted, the sweet song had put the Rattata to sleep. It also put its trainer to sleep too! Both Anna and Kristoff had covered their ears so they wouldn't be affected by its sound. Other trainers were affected by the sweet lullaby and until they woke up, the match would be at a standstill.

"Do you think using Solarbeam would be bit overkill?" Anna asked Kristoff quietly.

"It is not nice to Solarbeam people." Kristoff replied, "But it would certainly knock the Rattata out…"

"By the time everyone woke up, I bet Joan would have recovered from using it too." Kristoff shrugged. "Eh, Joan, use Energy Ball real quick." As the green ball of energy came in contact with the sleeping Rattata, it flew backwards to land on its trainer.

"Rattata is unable to battle, next pokémon. Would you care to change pokémon miss?" Anna shook her head. "Alrighty, someone wake up Kay so we can get this going." Part of Anna was curious how he two boys had managed to stay awake during the Grass Whistle, and then she noted the ear plugs in their rather large ears.

"What happened?" The boy, who Anna assumed was Kay, said as he finally came around.  
"You pokémon was beat, doofus. Get your last one." The boys told him.

Growling the boy recalled his fainted Rattata and pulled out a second pokéball. "Alright, here comes Wart!" As he said that, a Growlithe emerged from the pokéball. To be honest, it didn't look too pleased to be named Wart. It didn't look too pleased to be with its trainer either. "Alright Wart, use Ember on that grass pokémon!" Instead of listening to its trainer, the pokémon sat on the ground. "WART!" Kay screamed angrily at him. "DO SOMETHING!" With a bark Wart seemed to focus but then sat back down.

"I thought Growlithe's were supposed to be loyal pokémon…" Anna muttered to Kristoff. They watched the Growlithe completely ignore its trainer to just sit around. "Did it get hotter to you?"

"They are…" Kristoff replied. "Might as well keep fighting, this guy looks pretty incompetent."

Anna nodded and turned her attention back to Joan. "Alright Joan! Razor Leaf!"

"Wart! Burn those leaves!" However Wart didn't listen, instead he tried to run away, but it was struck by the leaves.

As the pokémon ran about, completely ignoring its trainer, Anna realized something. It was getting hotter out. Joan felt it too. Anna pushed up the sleeves of her zip up hoodie and decided to continue her attacks. "Sand Attack, Joan!" Joan kicked up a large amount of dirt and sand in the direction of Growlithe.

In response, the dog pokémon growled and raced forward. "Use Bite!" Kay called out as the fire-type raced forward. Wart seemed to listen and chomped down hard onto Joan.

"Energy Ball!" Anna cried with much frustration in her voice. Once Wart had released Joan, a ball of green energy shot forth and knocked the Growlithe back a few paces.

"Alright Wart! Use Flame Wheel! Or Ember! Or something with fire! Go!" Kay called out. The pokémon nodded curtly and sent out a stream of fire toward Joan.

"Counter the fire with Solarbeam, Joan!" Anna shouted quickly. With the more intense heat, Joan would be able to use her solarbeam instantly! The leaves that covered Joan's pelt took in the intense rays of light then with its power; she redirected them into her Solarbeam.

When the fire and the powerful beam connected, a rather large explosion took place. The sheer power of it knocked Joan back into Anna. Once the smoke had calmed down, Joan picked herself off of her trainer and shook her body off. She had quite a few bruises from that battle. It looked like Wart was down though. With the Growlithe down and out for the count, Anna was declared the winner.

"You just got lucky, newcomer. Wart is a useless pokémon." Kay growled out. He carelessly tossed Wart's pokéball away and stalked off to heal his Rattata, leaving poor Wart behind. Soon everyone else trickled away from the school yard and headed off. Eventually it was Anna, Kristoff, Joan and poor little Wart who had just started to come around.

"Come on, let's take him to the Pokémon Center and get him all healed up." Kristoff mumbled out. The blonde man scooped up the fire-type pokémon and the two trainers started their way back to the Pokémon Center.

"Here he is, you two! Good as new!" Nurse Joy said to the two trainers that were lying in their rooms. She and a Chansey lead the Growlithe through the doors of their room happily. The fire-type seemed happy to be well again. He instantly leaped onto Anna's bed and rubbed his head against her happily.

"He seems to be quite taken with you." The nurse pointed out to Anna. "Maybe you should keep him."

"He isn't mine though…"

"Anna," Kristoff started off, "That Kay kid abandoned him. He even named him Wart! You should definitely keep him."

Anna looked down to the cheerful pokémon and grinned a little. "Do you want to come travel with me?" She asked the pokémon. He barked happily in what Anna assumed was agreement. "Well alright then, it looks like I have two pokémon now. But I think we need to give you a better name." Everyone could agree with Anna on that one.

"How about… Arthur?" The Growlithe barked happily and then licked Anna's face. "Well Arthur it is! Welcome to the team! Let's get some rest because we are soooo challenging Zazu tomorrow!"


	3. Chapter 3

The news of Suicune’s sighting had spread rapidly over the past few days. Now the whole world probably knew about it. That was why Elsa and Hans stood at the desk of The Duke of Team Rocket. The to Rocket Executives had their arms crossed and were clearly not thrilled about being called up so late at night.

“What’s the bright idea, Duke. It ain’t even bright out and you wake us up. We’ve been busy you know!” Hans complained, clearly unhappy. He had just gotten to sleep, or so he claimed.

Elsa grumbled, voicing her agreement with Hans. Her hair was not neatly put up like normal, instead it hung lose in a low ponytail. She also had bags under her eyes. The woman’s black cap was covering what it could of her face and did its best to block out the light from Duke’s office.

“Well while you two were enjoying your snoozefest, I learned some important information just now.” The Duke growled out. He was a short man with greying hair. He had a mustache which flared out. His slicked back hair was, no doubt, a toupee. Hans could see that from a mile off.

“Don’t tell me you just found out about Suicune’s sighting.” Hans replied in a crabby tone.

“Wha- huh?”

“Yeah boss, I already have some of my boys out in Ecruteak City, gathering what information they can. Sent a few numbskulls undercover too.” Elsa finally spoke, equally crabby. She wanted to go back to sleep. It was one in the morning. “I’d go but you’re makin’ me and Hans run around like pidgeys with our heads cut off. You’d probably blow my cover anyway.”

“You’d blow your own cover, Elsa. The famed Johto Champion returned from the dead. Yeah right,” Hans barked out, half amused. “I’d do better under cover!”

“Nice try, but those side burns would give you away in a heartbeat!” Elsa fired back in mock annoyance. “The famous Johto Runner Up: Hans Westerland!”

“At least I can pull them off!” Hans replied arrogantly.

“Now now, children! Stop bickering.” The Duke chimed in with a mocking tone. The duo glared at each other but listened to their boss. “You both know I can’t send you undercover, but I sense you two are bored up here.” A snort from the two indicated that he was right. “So, I will send you two on a little mission.”

The two looked over to the Duke, clearly now interested. Getting out of HQ and doing some fieldwork would be nice. It would be easier to sneak away too. Over all, it would be great for their true mission.

“Hans, you’re going to Azalea Town. Take over the Slowpoke Well. Spike the water. With any luck, Suicune will come to purify the water so the poor little pokemon won’t get hurt.” The man seemed thrilled about his dubious plot he didn’t notice Hans and Elsa roll their eyes. “Then we can capture it!”

“And if Suicune doesn’t come?”

“It will come.” The Duke spat.

“Whatever you say boss.” Hans replied sarcastically. The Duke’s plans rarely worked. Typically Hans and Elsa’s plans worked more. Of course later they had to foil their own plans but since they made them, it was easy to un make them.

“What about me boss? Where are you sending me?” Elsa asked, bored out of her mind. She would rather be sleeping. Judging by the look on her partner’s face, has wanted to be sleeping too.

“Goldenrod City.”

“Aw come on! Why does Elsa get to go to a city?” Hans complained. Messing with water in the Slowpoke Well was nothing compared to living it up real nice in the city. Once again, Hans got the short end of the stick.

“Because I said so!” The short man barked out. He send saliva flying onto both Rockets who groaned and wiped it off. “Now Elsa, get packed, you head for the city within the hour. We have a secret hideout in one of the nicer buildings in town. I’ll forward the information to you along with the rest of your mission.”

The blonde nodded curtly and left The Duke’s office. She waited outside the door for Hans though. Moments later the auburn haired man left the room. His face had paled considerably and he looked like he was going to be sick.

“What’s wrong?” Elsa asked him. They walked down the hallway of the Rocket HQ with purpose. Very few of the grunts dared mess with them. Instead the fled from the duo as fast as possible.

Hans was silent until they reached the joint bedroom they shared. “I have to chop off the Slowpoke Tails and sell them…” He managed out. Contrary to popular belief, Hans was a huge softie. He cared immensely for the wellbeing of all pokemon, just like Elsa. It was what made them such a great team. “Duke wants ‘em from profit...I don’t know if I can do that Elsa…”

It was times like these when playing a double agent was rough. “Make your men do it.” Elsa told him quietly. “If you do that big tough act of yours, you can totally frighten them into doing what you want.” Hans didn’t answer instantly, he just stood by his bed in shock. Eventually Elsa coaxed him into sitting on the bed with her next to him. “Look Hans, we knew this would be hard. We’ve done far worse things in our three years here.”

Taking down Team Rocket this time would be very different. The Rockets have learned from their past mistakes. Six years ago, the Rockets had been at the peak greatness. They ruled everywhere in the Kanto Region and had started moving into the Johto Region. Hans and Elsa fought the team every step of the way. When the Team fell, it was all thanks to a boy and his friends from Kanto. The team never forgot the two kids who twarted their plans in Johto so when the Rocket Revival came, Elsa and Hans were their first targets. In order to protect what people survived that attack, Hans and Elsa surrendered. There was no choice for them.

“I wish this all could have worked out differently…” Hans confessed to his partner of almost eleven years.

“As do I. But we have to do what we can.” Elsa replied quietly. “I need to leave soon.” In case of last second missions, Elsa always had a bag packed with her uniform and a few pairs of clothes. She had enough to last her a few days. If the blonde needed more things, she could buy them using the Rocket’s money.

“I’m set. I’ll see you eventually…” She hated being parted from the man she practically grew up with.

“Have your Pokegear?” Hans asked, now laying back on his bed.

Elsa held up her hand. “Yeah I have- I have a message…” The woman frowned and looked at the flashing red light which indicated she had a voicemail.

This piqued Hans’ interest and he sat up. “From who?”

“I don’t recognize the number…”

“Give it a listen anyway. Maybe your folks got new gear?”

That could be true, but Elsa wasn’t sure. She hesitated before pressing a button which let her listen to the voicemail.

_“Hey Elsa- well, um, Hi. It’s me! Your sister Anna!”_ Both Elsa and Hans’ eyes widened in shock. _“So I started my pokemon journey a few days ago and I wanted to tell you about it. I don’t even know if you’re alive and able to hear it but who knows. I figure I might as well hope for the best. Anyway, here goes nothing.”_ The message went on describing how Anna met Merida DunBroch and a girl named Firefly who was sister to the Champion Aurora. She talked about fighting a kid with Joan (who was a Leafeon now) and “totally winning.” Then she said that she got a Growlithe and named it Arthur and that tomorrow she was going to challenge Zazu for a gym badge. _“So yeah, that’s been my life for the past few days. Um… I miss you. I hope this is you because if it isn’t that would be totally awkward. Not your awkward, my awkward but yeah… I’ll call you back in a few days. Love you Elsa… Bye.”_ The message beeped and ended leaving both Elsa and Hans shocked beyond words.

A few moments later, loud banging at the door broke them of their shock. Elsa slung her bag over her shoulder and then went to open it. A tall male grunt stood at the other side of the door. “I was told by the Duke to let you know you time is up.” He said timidly. Despite being taller than her, he was still scared of her.

“Then good thing I was just leaving.” Elsa replied cooly. Ice colored eyes looked back at her friend. “Good luck at the well. Its gonna be boring with just you and your hand.” The blonde fired out in a sassy voice.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of people willing to entertain me.” The man replied while stroking a minor bulge in his pants as seductively as he could while trying not to bust out laughing. “I’m sure you’ll have fun in the city.” His dreamy eyes focused on the grunt at the door who was just staring at Hans’ pants.

“Unlike you, Hans, I have standards.” With that, she sent her companion a flirty wink before heading out of HQ. The grunt that the Duke sent was escorting her out, making sure she actually left (as per his orders). As she walked out the door, her Pokegear chimed with a message.

_“Laughing so hard. Send that grunt back when you finish with him. I need some company.”_

_“If you do anything on my bed, I will murder you.”_ Elsa relayed Hans’ request to the Grunt. His eyes lit up and the tall man quickly raced back to the Rocket Executive. _“He seems eager to please. Have a good night.”_

Moments later Elsa got her reply. _“Oh I plan on it.”_ The blonde groaned and called upon her Dragonite, Figment, to take her to Goldenrod City.

* * *

 

When the sun finally rose, Anna leaped out of bed and dressed faster than Kristoff had ever seen her move. The strawberry blonde tripped over her own to feet a few times but in five minutes she was fully dressed with her hair braided.

“Hurry up Kristoff! We gotta go challenge Zazu!” The teenager told him ecstatically. She was bouncing up and down all over their room at the Pokemon Center. Joan was also bouncing up and down excitedly like her trainer.

“Calm down feisty pants.” Kristoff told her, slowly getting out of his own bed. He wasn’t moving nearly as fast as Anna was hoping he would. “We still have to go to the Sprout Tower to get the monk’s blessing.” That was pretty standard. Outsiders coming to acquire the Zephyr Badge had to battle the monks of the Sprout Tower and be given the go ahead to challenge Zazu. There were actually two ways to challenge Zazu. The first was to be cleared by the Trainer School (which neither Anna nor Kristoff had been affiliated with) the Sprout Tower was the second and more popular decision.

“Well hurry up! I have to get to the Sprout Tower!” Anna whined, clearly impatient.

“You go get food, I’ll get ready, alright?”

“Ugh fine!” The impatient trainer padded out of their rented room with Joan behind her. They decided to get some breakfast while Kristoff finished getting ready.

Finally Kristoff came out to eat and then set off from the Pokemon Center within the hour. Kristoff had the map, so he was leading them through the city. It was still early so very few people were out. The little markets and cafes were just opening and it was a rather peaceful morning.

After half an hour of enjoying the peaceful morning, Anna found herself approaching the Sprout Tower. It sat back behind a lake. A beautiful cobblestone bridge lead visitors over the water to the tower. Despite it being early, a few people were awake and on the bridge. Upon further investigation, they were all fishers enjoying the peaceful morning. The trainers waved to the fishers and their pokemon nodded.

Finally they made it inside the tower. Inside the monks (and some tourists) were exploring the tower. The first thing that caught Anna’s eye was the teetering pillar in the center of the tower. It was a thick pillar, probably as think as five Kristoff’s! But it was still teetering back and forth almost dangerously. Yet no one on the ground floor seemed to care about the one hundred foot shaking tower.

“Alright Feisty Pants, welcome to the Sprout Tower.” Kristoff said to her quietly. “Now the only way for you to challenge Zazu is to make your way all the way up to the top. Then apparently you have to get the Monk’s blessings.”

“Ok, lets go!!” Anna replied excitedly. Joan chirped beside her excitedly. Battling her way to the top sounded easy enough. She and Joan were a team and definitely powerful, so she had the utmost confidence in their abilities. They would win for sure. Now with Arthur on their team, Anna was sure they would win!

The trek up the steps was terrifying. Anna felt like she was going to fall through the floors at any moment. On the first floor she encountered a Monk who said he needed to test her abilities before he could let her ascend the steps. He only had a bellsprout so it was a quick battle with a win for Arthur.

These sort of battles continued on every floor, facing one or two Monks before ascending the steps. Finally when Anna made it to the top level, she encountered a familiar face. Kay.

"What are YOU doing here?" The redhead boy asked angrily.

"I could ask you the same thing." Anna hissed out.

"I'm here to get my ticket to challenging Zazu!" Kay shouted at her. Off to the side, his goons stood cheering. "I've got better pokemon now and I can take you down!"

"Oh yeah?" Anna hollered back. "Well I have a strong team and I KNOW I can beat you!"

“Children, please calm down.” The elder monk interjected in a fatherly tone. “If you are both so confident of your battling ability against Zazu, then why not battle each other? The winner shall receive my blessing to face him.”

“See? Elder Tuck knows what’s what! He knows I’ll beat him so he’s saving himself the humiliation!” Kay boasted.

“We’ll see about that!” Anna countered as each took their place on opposite ends of the room.

"Raticate! I choose you!" Kay shouted while throwing his pokeball.

"Let's go Joan!" The little Leafeon leaped to Anna's side. "Start off with Razor Leaf!"

The leaves hit the the rat pokemon, causing it to cry out. "Raticate! Hyper Fang!"

Joan tried her best to move out of the way but the attack hit her. Anna retaliated by having her use Energy Ball. The attack hit the Raticate dead-on, knocking it back towards Kay. However, it jumped back to its feet in a flash, ready for more.

“Don’t let up, Raticate! Bite it!” Kay barked his orders.

“Dodge and follow up with a quick-leaf combo!”

This time Joan succeeded in dodging, and flung her leaves at the rat. Before it had a chance to recover, the Leafeon charged forward and rammed the Raticate, sending it tumbling back to land at Kay’s feet. This time it was too weak to get back up.

"You got lucky! That’s all! Now we’re going to end this!" Kay growled as he swapped his fainted Raticate for a Magnemite.

“Joan, come back, you did great!” Anna cheered on her Leafeon as it returned to her side. She then pulled out her second pokeball. "Come on Arthur!" The redhead called as she tossed out her pokeball.

When Arthur appeared, Kay's faced distorted itself in rage.

"WART!?" He yowled out angrily. "You weak traitor pokemon!"

"You abandoned him! Arthur and I are a team now!" Anna shouted angrily. "Arthur use Ember!"

"Magnemite use metal sound!"

Just before the ember could hit, Metal Sound rang through everyone's ears causing it to miss. Anna and the others covered their ears as the painful noise continued.

"C'mon Arthur! Hit it with Flame Wheel!" Anna shouted through her covered ears.

The fire pokemon heard it and let out a wheel of fire from its mouth. The fire spiralled towards the Magnemite, knocking it to the ground with a single strike. Kay stood with his mouth open, staring in shock. His entourage held similar expressions of surprise. Clearly Kay forgot that fire type attacks are super effective against steel types.

“Kay, you have been defeated. I’m sorry, but I can’t give you my blessing to face Zazu.” Elder Tuck spoke in as calming a voice as he could muster.

Kay stuttered and stumbled over his words, with a barely coherent jumble coming from his mouth as he continued to stare at his fallen Magnemite. Calling the Pokémon back into its ball, the redheaded boy stormed out, followed silently by his entourage.

“Young lady, I will inform Zazu that you have received my blessing to face him immediately.” Elder Tuck beamed, passing a scroll to a Pidgey, which flew through the open window behind him. “I wish you the best of luck.”

Walking into the Gym was terrifying. Kristoff was with her, so it wasn’t as scary. There were people training with Flying type pokemon everywhere. There was only one person in the Gym who didn’t have a flying type and it was a boy with a Shinx. Anna knew what Shinx was because Elsa had one traded to her for her old Graveler. It made Anna wonder what ever did happen to that Shinx.

“Now Simba-” A voice called to the boy. He has dark skin and dark red shaggy hair. “A flying type would really be more useful. You can use a flying type pokemon to send letters to your friend Nala.”

“I don’t care, Zazu. Now leave me alone!” The boy spat. His Shinx sat next to him, brushing it’s head against the kid’s leg.

Anna’s head perked up at the mention of Zazu. She looked over to see a man with slicked back black hair and pale skin. He wore a finely tailored blue suit with a red tie. Over all, the man seemed like a fancy trainer.

“Uh, Excuse me! Mister Gym Leader Zazu!” Anna called out.

The gym leader turned quickly and studied Anna. “Yes,” he asked in a bored tone. “What can you possibly want?”

“Well Uh… I’m here to challenge you to a Gym Battle.” Anna told him a bit timidly.

The man sighed. “Don’t you know all challengers must be cleared by the Pokemon School or test their worth at the Sprout Tower to-”

“-Be able to challenge you. Yeah been there, done that. The Head Monk guy sent over a message.” Anna told him quickly. “Now fight me. I don’t have all day.” She actually did but she wouldn’t tell Zazu that. The rest of today would be spent celebrating her inevitable win against the Gym Leader.

“I keep telling Elder Tuck to start including the names of qualifiers in his notes…” Zazu sighed, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. “Very well, I accept your challenge... Whoever you are."

"I'm Anna Silverbell and I'm gonna be the greatest Pokemon Master ever."

If Zazu had known who Anna was, he didn't show it until they were already engaged in battle. They were in a two on two match. Arthur had already taken down his first Pokemon, a pesky Spearow that he had been training up. Now Joan had moved in to take out his Pidgeotto, and the damn bird was a pain in the ass.

"Your sister was much smarter in battle." The Gym leader had called out after Joan had been hit by a vicious Wing Attack. "My pokemon were no match for her Glaceon."

Anna cursed her idiocy. Grass type pokemon were incredibly weak to flying types. Arthur had barely beaten that Spearow and now it was left to Joan. Perhaps she should have caught a rock type Pokemon like Kristoff.

Even so, she was doing alright, all things considered. A lucky critical hit from a quick attack has weakened the Pidgeotto considerably. However, Joan was still weak from the wing attack. It really could come down to the next hit. Well, it could if Anna wasn't smart. Thankfully she had spent years training Joan.

"Gust!" The gym leader called out, thinking this would be his final attack.

"Joan! Synthesis!" Oh yes, she was brilliant. Now while Joan regained energy to be stronger, that Pidgeotto was still weakened.

The gust of wind hit Joan straight on, but since she had stayed in place to gather her strength, the Leafeon came out stronger than before the attack hit her.

"Alright Joan! Let's finish this with Energy Ball!" The attack hit right on. Moments later the Pidgeotto was down and the battle belonged to Anna.

The referee declared Anna the winner and poor Zazu was forced to hand off his badge to the girl.

"Now that you have the Zephyr Badge, more trainers will respect you." Zazu explained, "you're already one step closer to your dream of Pokemon Master."

"Thanks!" Anna replied cheerfully. "I hope to be as good as Elsa one day!"

The Gym Leader laugher at Anna. "I highly doubt that. No one was as good as that girl. She was the best trainer that Johto had seen in many years." Anna frowned and quickly pocketed her badge. "But do not focus on becoming as good as Champion Elsa." The flying type master told her. "Focus on becoming as good as you can be."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"We are all different people with different strengths." Zazu told her simply. "Focus on your own strengths and let them take you to where you need to be. We all play different roles in this world. Elsa had her role and you have your own. Do not live in your sister's shadow."

"Yeah you're not making any sense."

The gym leader sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You are nothing like her." The man grumbled. "Go, leave. You've won your badge. Got get the others. Be the pokemon master you want to be."

"Uh sounds good. Later cranky bird man." And with a victorious cheer, Anna left with Kristoff trailing behind her.

"Do not lose yourself on the way, Anna Silverbell." Zazu mumbled as he watched the two leave. Moments later he was hit by a bouncy ball in the head. The man turned quickly so see an innocent looking face and a nonchalant Shinx standing a few feet from him. "Simba..."

"RUN KOVU!" Simba shouted.

"Simba get back here!"

"Run!"

* * *

Elsa sat in the back of a small Cafe in Goldenrod City. No one paid much attention to her as she drank a chesto berry smoothie. She dressed in a fine business suit with a pencil skirt. Her platinum hair was back in a bun and she wore large sunglasses to cover her face. No one recognized the former champion without her trademark braid. It was nice.

A beep pulled her from her thoughts. Looking down to her Pokegear she saw she had a new voicemail. Without thinking she clicked the voicemail and started to listen.

_"Hey Elsa. It's me, Anna. I know it's super late but I just had to tell you that I got my first badge today! I beat Zazu with Joan and it was awesome. I'll spare you the details but me, Joan and Arthur worked as a team and totally won. The next badge to get is Flik's at Azalea Town so me and Kristoff will be there next. We leave Violet City tomorrow. I don't know how long it will take us to get to Azalea. Kris said a few days at least. And we have to go through a cave- well you already know who's stuff so yeah. Just wanted to tell you about the badge. Miss you..."_ The message ended with a click and Elsa just leaned back against her chair.

The woman quickly left the cafe, leaving the chesto berry smoothie alone on the table. She had a job to do.


	4. Saving some Slowpoke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well hello! I'm sure everyone is wondering why the hell this took so long and I'm going to say, blame life. Also it's because I wanted to add too much in this chapter and that was another reason. So as an apology for the wait, have a really long chapter. Thank you to Ethan who is practically my co-author. Enjoy!

Elsa approached the radio tower around 4:00 that afternoon. Her mission didn't start until "later", but she needed to get to start getting a layout of the tower for the Duke. Upon entering, she came across two men having an argument of sorts.

"Naveen, this is not up for discussion. You're going to have a lovely dinner with your wife on the anniversary of her restaurant opening. Because you and I both know that siccing Louis on you is only the _third_ worst thing she can do to you."

Elsa immediately recognized both men. The darker man, Naveen, owned the radio station. She had never been introduced to the man, but she had seen him quite a few times at Tiana's Palace, the most famous restaurant in Johto. He had the great fortune of being married to Tiana, who Elsa knew quite well. The other man could present a serious problem for her mission. The bald and bearded young man with the Honchkrow on his shoulder was none other than Ethan, a multi-certified Pokemon league champion.

Elsa and Ethan had faced off in the semifinals of that ill-fated Kanto tournament. He had never lost a single battle in his professional battling career until that day, and he did not take the loss well. Immediately after his loss he left Kanto in a rage, and reportedly punched out a security guard on his way out. He had completely vanished from public eye after that.

"Are you sure? You're not gonna get overwhelmed?" Naveen asked as Ethan began to push him towards the door.

"Naveen, I practically run the place when I'm here on Saturdays. I'm a two time League champion. I'm gonna be just fine. Go spend some time with your wife."

Naveen seemed to relent at last and began to walk in the direction of the front door.

"I'm sending Peckinpah to pick up my supper. If Tiana doesn't sign off stating they you're present and enjoying a nice dinner with her, I'm sending Brutus after you!" The champion called after him. His Honchkrow cawed, confirming the playful threat.

As he turned to return to work, Ethan paused. He seemed to lock onto Elsa, staring and tilting his head, as if trying to place if he had seen her before. After a tense moment, the champion shrugged and ascended the stairwell.

Elsa froze for a moment after seeing Ethan. She didn't think he would be out of his self-imposed exile. Though she _had_ heard that some woman miraculously brought him out of hiding. Having someone who could recognize her hanging around could end very badly for her. But for now, she had to focus on meeting her new 'agent'.

After arriving in Goldenrod, Elsa had frequented Tiana's Palace. The best part about the restaurant was that it wasn't crazy expensive like most high end places, but it had the best food in all of Johto. Of course, you had to be considered "stylish" in order to enter. Apparently, that was the standard policy for high end restaurants across the globe. Thankfully for Elsa, once she was seen on the arm of Señor Senior Junior she was allowed admittance. The kid loved pop music and pop stars, so it just so happened to work perfectly.

After getting in a few times, she let slip that she would sing in local restaurants and bars back in the Sinnoh region. After that, Junior had insisted she sing with Louis… the trumpet playing Feraligatr. The two strug up a pretty jazzy tune that had all eyes on them. After a few more, at the insistence of the audience, Elsa stepped down and hid away from the crowd. Not long into her 'date' with Junior, Elsa was approached by a woman who promised to make her into a pop star. And so, "Lizette" was born!

The week after, Elsa had to return to the radio station to meet her new agent. Truthfully, she was a little nervous about the attention she was getting and hoped that no one would recognize her.

"Ah! Lizette! You're early my dear." Her agent, Cruella said, extending her hand to her.

"Well, ma'am, to be early is to be on time." Elsa explained, putting on a bit of an accent. "That's what my ma and pa taught me." She had said she lived in Sinnoh, so now she had to act it.

"And a good saying that is! Come. We have a lot of work before we can turn Lizette and her pet Banette into the pop idols of the century."

_Yay…_ Elsa thought sarcastically as she followed Cruella up the steps of the radio tower.

* * *

When Anna and Kristoff stumbled out of Union Cave, it was mid afternoon and the rain was pouring down on them.

"Ugh!" Anna groaned out, "It's almost as bad as that cave!" Joan seemed perfectly content in the rain, as did Sven, but neither trainer seemed to be thrilled.

"Well that way it to Azalea Town, and it looks like the rain is letting up more down the road that way." Kristoff said while glancing down at his map. "I bet we can get there in the next ten minutes or so!"

"Well let's run!"

And run they did. Like Kristoff had predicted, the rain let up the further away the got from the cave. As they walked down the path and approached Azalea Town, they stumbled across some kind of a situation. A tall man in black stood, blocking entrance to the town's well. He appeared to have some kind of argument with an old man. The man in black began to shout about the well being closed and pushed the old man back towards town.

"There's something suspicious about that guy." Kristoff said as they watched the old man hurry back to town.

"Oh good, glad I'm not the only one who noticed." Anna mumbled out.

As the two drew closer, Anna noticed the bright red 'R' emblazoned across the shirt of the man in black. Team Rocket. Anger gripped Anna something fierce, after all, Team Rocket was the reason that Elsa had been gone. If Team Rocket wasn't at the Pokemon League, Elsa would have come home!

"Calm down…" Kristoff muttered in her ear. "We don't need to draw attention to ourselves."

"They're the reason Elsa is gone." Anna growled. "We should take them down."

"We don't know that." Kristoff replied, trying to drag her away from the man. He seemed to be guarding something and he was staring at the trainers with mild curiosity. "Maybe Elsa is off with Hans and-"

"And what?" Anna growled. She glared at the Team Rocket member once more but then let herself get pulled away.

"C'mon." Kristoff muttered, roughly dragging her away. "For all we know, they are off like that one fancy singer with the ghost pokemon."

"You mean Ethan?" Anna asked looking up at Kristoff.

"Just a guess. Remember, he left after Elsa beat him at the Pokemon League, and no one heard a word about him for two years. After the chaos that happened there, I wouldn't be surprised if Elsa was hiding atop some mountain and surrounding herself with ice pokemon." Kristoff explained simply. "Having a few of your pokemon die on you must be traumatic. I'd probably want to be away from people too."

"It's still Team Rocket's fault." Anna decided, still upset that she hasn't heard from her sister.

"Yeah, alright." Kristoff replied. "Let's hit the Pokemon Center. I bet everyone could use a break after that cave."

"Yeah, let's go."

Team Rocket didn't hide around the city. Men and women with bright red Rs on their chests, walked around the small town as if they owned it. It created a somewhat uneasy atmosphere as Anna and Kristoff made their way to the Pokemon Center.

"I can't believe so many people are broadcasting that they support this bunch of thugs." Anna growled as the two ducked into the Pokemon Center. It seemed to be the only place without Rockets… so far.

"I think the Rockets have taken a greater hold than people realize… We should not mess with these guys. Just hit the gym and get out."

"Gym's closed." A voice said, drawing the pair's attention. "The Rockets have it shut down."

"What?" Anna asked, looking over at the eavesdropper.

She had red hair like Anna and dressed in green cargo pants and a black longsleeve. "Name's Kim. I heard the Rockets we're getting up to trouble here and the police can't go investigate without a warrant."

"So what do you do?" Kristoff asked.

"Oh, this and that. Things and stuff." Kim said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I was about to head off to see Maurice. He knows everything that's happening in the town. Figured he would know what exactly is going on in the Slowpoke Well."

"Slowpoke Well? Is that what that Rocket is guarding?" Anna asked her, now interested.

"Yup. Couldn't tell you why though. Got a lot of rumors flyin' around but we can't make heads or tails of them." Kim admitted.

"We?" Kristoff asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait? Tails? Slowpoke Well?" Anna whispered. She then turned to Kristoff and gripped his shirt. "Kris! They're the ones cutting off Slowpoke Tails for people to eat!"

"They're cutting off Slowpoke Tails!?" Kim exclaimed.

"Kristoff, remember that shady guy, by the Pokemon Center on the other side the cave? He was trying to sell Slowpoke Tails! This must be where they get them from!" Anna exclaimed. She then turned to Kim. "We had a guy try to sell us one before we hit the cave like two days ago. It was crazy expensive!"

"He asked for a ridiculous amount. Like, ten thousand bucks or something. Like we even have that much to begin with…"

"Well they are a delicacy some places, but that is extreme…" Kim mumbled. She pulled out her PokeGear and started typing away furiously. "But I definitely need to tell Maurice about this. Feel free to come find me at his house." With that, the mysterious redhead was gone.

"Well? Let's go!" Anna said, heading back toward the door.

"Hold up." Kristoff told her, grabbing her by her collar. "We need to let everyone rest for a bit. We just got out of that cave. Give it a few hours rest for everyone and then we go find this Maurice."

"Fine…" Anna pouted, turning back towards the front desk of the Pokemon Center. "But afterward, we kick some Rocket ass."

"Whatever you say." Kristoff rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Well, let's give them a lesson in pain!" An old man shouted as Anna and Kristoff entered Maurice's house.

"Who are we beating up?" Anna asked.

"Ah there you two are! Just told Maurice what you put together. He's agreed that it's time we take some action. Hope you two are ready for a fight, because the Rockets have one coming for them." Kim was sitting at the table with her Pokegear out. She was typing off a quick message to someone.

"Well let's go kick some ass!" Anna exclaimed, eager to beat up the people who took her sister from her.

"Uh, sorry to be a bit of a downer but you do realize that it's almost night time." Kristoff said to the group. "Anna, you and I have been traveling for the last week to get here. I vote we take care of Rockets tomorrow."

As much as they all wanted to go and take out the Rockets that day, Kristoff made a very good point. So that night, the trainers got caught up on sleep and ate a large breakfast in preparation for their attack.

"Alright everyone, let's go save some Slowpoke!" Kim told the group once they assembled in Maurice's house that morning.

"Hang on Slowpoke! Maurice is comin' for ya!" The older man shouted while running out of his home.

"Papa!" A younger brunette shouted after him. The man didn't seem to hear her though.

"Don't worry, Belle, I'll make sure he's alright." Kim promised. "Come on you two. We're saving some Slowpoke."

"Yeah!" Anna shouted. Beside her, Joan chirped in agreement.

The trio swiftly made their way through the town. When they reached the well, they found that neither Maurice nor the rocket guarding the Well's entrance were anywhere to be seen.

"C'mon… They must be inside already." Kim said, racing down to the well. The entrance was quite wide. A human could easily slip inside. There was even a rather sturdy ladder to help someone get into it. "Don't follow until I say so. It may not be safe."

"I get the feeling that she is one of those people who does things on her own a lot." Kristoff mumbled as Kim slipped down the well. He called out a Pokeball and held it up to Sven. "Alright buddy, in you go for now." The Pokemon looked at him sadly, but obeyed him. In a red flash, Sven was safely tucked inside his pokeball.

Anna did the same with Joan, though she didn't quite like it. "She's probably been adventuring longer than the both of us combined."

"That's not very hard…" Kristoff pointed out.

"All clear!" Kim called up.

The two hurried down the well to find Maurice and Kim standing by him. he was laying on his back in a small puddle, groaning.

"I found him like this." Kim told the two quietly. "If you two can stay with him, I'll take care of these thugs."

"No way. I came here to kick some Rocket butt! After what they did to Elsa, I plan to kick their ass all the way back to Kanto!" Anna replied hotly. "So that's what I'm going to do!"

"I can stay with him." Kristoff offered, hoping to diffuse the argument before it started.

Kim looked at the two, then to the PokeGear in her hand. Then back to Anna. "Fine… but keep quiet and let me take care of this."

"I can help!" Anna insisted as the two walked away.

"Then help by watching my back." Kim whispered. "I don't need to get Elsa Silverbell's sister hurt in the crossfire."

"You know Elsa?" Anna asked quietly.

"Everyone knew Elsa." Kim replied as quietly as she could. She peered around a few boulders, making sure that it was all clear before continuing. "I fought her in the Johto League. First loss I ever had. It was a damn good battle." Kim smiled as if she was remembering the fight itself. "Ah well, come on. They're bound to be around here."

Like Kim predicted, the two encountered the Rockets within minutes. Two of them at the same time.

"I got the one on the left and you take the right?" Kim asked.

Anna nodded and threw herself into battle. It was finally time to kick some Rocket butt.

"Let's go Joan!" The Leafeon was released from it's pokeball, only to land in the mud. The Pokemon looked up at it's trainer only to glare at her. "What?" Anna asked her, but she received another glare in response. "It's not my fault that we're in a well, Joan. There's mud everywhere."

The Rocket threw his Pokeball, and a Rattata emerged. What was it with team Rocket and Rattata? It's like it was team policy for every grunt to carry a Rattata, Zubat, or something. Either way, the battle was on.

"Use quick attack! Don't give them a chance to start!" The grunt ordered his Rattata, who charged into Joan.

The hit landed but didn't seem to do very significant damage to Joan. She glared at the rat pokemon and smacked it with the back of her paw.

"Joan," Anna sighed, "Use bite."

The Leafeon caught the rat pokemon in it's jaws tightly and shook it about. When she released it was sent flying into a boulder.

"Get up!" The rocket shouted at his Rattata. The Pokemon struggled, but managed to get back on its feet. However, it looked very weak. "Another quick attack, come on!"

"Alright, Joan! Use quick attack back!" Anna could have sworn she saw the pokemon smirk before charging. The Grass type moved in a blink of an eye and soon the Rattata was knocked out and down for the count.

"Got anything else left for us?" Anna asked with a confident smirk.

"Zubat!" The grunt called out his second pokemon. Of course it was a Zubat.

"Let's get through this one quick, Joan." Anna said, glaring the Rocket down. "Quick attack, then bite!"

Joan charged towards a larger rock and used it as a stepping stone to leap into the air and at the Zubat. The Leafeon caught the flying type in its mouth and shook it around, throwing it into the same bolder it had tossed the Rattata into moments ago. Unlike the Rattata, the Zubat was not able to rejoin the battle.

Anna looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kim. The other redhead had long since defeated her foe, and was moving in on the man in charge of the operation. However, before Anna could rush in to join the fight, two more Rocket grunts came rushing towards her. One of them had a noticeable limp. Upon closer inspection, Anna realized that this was the grunt who had been guarding the well's entrance.

"Hey! Two on one isn't fair!" Anna protested.

"Since when were Rockets about fighting fairly?" The healthier one snapped back as he called out his Koffing. The injured grunt called forth an Ekans.

"Anna, take out those guys! I've got this one!" Kim shouted, already calling out her Pokemon.

From Anna's position, she couldn't see who Kim's opponent was, but she had more things to worry about. She had some Rocket asses to kick.

"Looks like it's time to bring out Arthur." Anna mumbled to herself, calling forth the Growlithe to help even the odds.

"Koffing, blow out a smokescreen!" The left grunt called out to his Pokemon, who began to pump out a thick smoke from its pores.

"Joan, tackle that Koffing!" Anna shouted to her Leafeon.

"Not a chance! Ekans, wrap it up!" The right grunt commanded. The snake Pokemon rushed to intercept the Leafeon, catching it in its coils before it could reach the Koffing.

"Arthur, go help Joan! Bite the Ekans!" The Growlithe rushed to assist his companion, following the sounds of struggle to locate the entangled opponents. Chomping down on the Ekans, the snake released its grip immediately, but swung around to strike Arthur with a venomous bite of its own.

Anna grinned at Arthur. "Arthur! Let's see if that Ekans can take the heat! Ember!" She shouted at her Pokemon.

Arthur had yelped in pain from the bite, but obeyed and let a stream of fire burst through his mouth. It was aimed right at the snake pokemon's face. The flames burned the Pokemon and it reared back in pain.

"Arthur! Tackle it to the ground! Joan! Go for the Koffing!" Anna barked out. The smokescreen from Koffing was filling the well, causing Anna's eyes and lungs to burn. She had to take it out!

"Not so fast!" The grunt growled! "We're out of here twerp! Koffing! Use your self destruct!"

"What!?" Anna shouted. But before she could react, the Koffing self destructed, knocking her back against the cold muddy ground.

All she could hear was a ringing sound. It reminded her of a time when she put a pot on her head and Kristoff started banging on it with wooden spoons… But way worse.

"This isn't the last of us! Team Rocket is back to finish what Rourke started!" A man's voice hollered out. It seemed a little familiar to Anna but she couldn't place it.

"Anna! Anna!" Kim called out to her.

The young trainer blinked a few times before she managed to see Kim's red mane. "Kim, they- they-"

"I know. They got away." Kim said, trying to help her up. "But we saved the Slowpoke, so it wasn't a failure." The older trainer grabbed Anna's arm and slung it over her shoulder. "Cmon. Let's go. Call your Pokemon back. We need to tell Azalea Town about our success. Maybe tomorrow you can take on Flik."

"Yeah…" Anna mumbled, still thinking about that man's vaguely familiar voice.

* * *

"And that's how it's done, Kristoff!" Anna proclaimed triumphantly, showing off her second badge. Flik's gym was pretty easy with Arthur on her side. After resting up, Anna had returned to Union Cave to catch a few more Pokemon. Her newest addition, a Sandshrew she named Mole, was able to see his first gym battle after a few days of training.

"Alright there Feisty Pants. Let's see how Maurice is coming along with my Pokeballs." Maurice, with the help from his daughter Belle, created special pokeballs from Apricorns. Kristoff had been collecting as many as he could on his way up to Azalea Town because of him. He typically helped trainers, for a modest fee; but after helping out with the Slowpoke, Kristoff and Anna got free specialty pokeballs from him.

"Ah! There you two are!" The elderly inventor said as the two walked through the door. "Excellent! I have your orders ready to go!" The two were then presented with a set of Quick Balls.

"Thanks Maurice!" They both chimed, eagerly inspecting them. They were quite impressed. Maurice's work was incredible. It was no wonder that trainers all over Johto swore by his handiwork.

"Feel free to come back anytime!"

"Are you two leaving town today?" Belle asked from the kitchen.

Anna looked down at her watch. She had gotten to Flik's gym as early as possible to battle him. It was still relatively early in the day, so it made sense to get going. They had already been in Azalea Town for five days and she was eager to see Goldenrod City

"Probably, the Ilex Forest is pretty big and easy to get lost in." Anna said with a shrug. "So the sooner we get there, the sooner we get to Kris' family's place."

From behind her, Kristoff groaned. Ever since they left Violet City, Bulda had been calling him at least once a day asking where they were. At this point he had started sending her messages about where they were so she would leave him alone.

"Well the take this!" She brought out a large basket of food for the two trainers. "I remember what it was like, being on the road all the time! Having a nice meal only happened in big cities!" Belle laughed as if she was remembering something. "Think of it as a thank you from me! I'm so happy that you saved the Slowpoke!"

"Aw thanks Belle!" The two tucked the food in their backpacks and then bid farewell to the two natives before taking off to the Ilex Forest.

_Kim. Kristoff and Anna headed to Ilex. Belle._

Soon enough she got her reply. _Roger. Thanks for your help earlier. Your orders still stand._

_Understood. Good luck. Send my best to everyone._

_Roger._

* * *

"...Should've been back hours ago! Ohhhh man, I'm going to be in trouble!"

As the pair entered Ilex Forest, they could see a boy having some sort of a fit. Accompanying the boy was an older figure, well-dressed with a top hat.

"I warned you, Pinocchio. I told you that you shouldn't goof around on the job, especially with Geppetto's Farfetch'd being as jumpy as they are." He said sternly.

"Hey! You two!" The boy shouted over to the pair as they approached. "Hey, can you help me?"

"What's up?" Anna asked nonchalantly.

"I was watching my father's Farfetch'd, but they got away on me! I asked Gaston to help, but he said he had to handle something at the well, and it's been hours! Please, I'll be in so much trouble if we lose those Farfetch'd!"

"Sure, we could spare some time." Kristoff said. "Where'd they run off?"

"That way!" Pinocchio pointed down a pathway.

"Geppetto's Farfetch'd are rather timid and sensitive, with very good hearing. One of you must distract them, and then the other must sneak up from behind it and grab it." The old man with the top hat advised.

"Sounds easy enough." Anna shrugged. "We'll be back in no time!"

And so they vanished into the forest.

After what seemed to be a half an hour or so, a rustling of the underbrush alerted the two. Kristoff broke away from Anna, hoping that it was the Farfetch'd. He crept through the underbrush as quietly as her could. Then he saw a flash of red and pounced!

"Got ya!" Kristoff shouted as he grabbed the figure.

"Ah!" The figure shouted back. It whirled around to hit him and the taller man shoved into a tree.

"Ouch!" When Kristoff finally looked at what he pounced on, he flushed. "Oh, sorry Kim. I thought you were a Farfetch'd."

"What are you doing out here?" Anna asked as she helped Kristoff up.

"Oh, you know… this and that. Things and stuff." Kim shrugged. "You guys are headed to Goldenrod City, right?"

"Yeah! Well, kinda." Anna said. "We're helping some kid find his dad's Farfetch'd."

"Pinocchio?" Kim sighed.

"Yeah, that's what the old guy said, wasn't it?" Kristoff asked. "You know him?"

"Yeah. Both of them. The old guy had a top hat, right?" Kim asked, to which Anna and Kristoff nodded. "That would be Jiminy. He used to be the gym leader until… I don't know but it wasn't that long ago. He chose Flik to replace him when he retired. He's good friends with Geppetto, Pinocchio's dad. And he was kind of like a mentor to me, when I was here."

"Sounds like a great guy." Anna commented.

"He is. So, the Farfetch'd are loose? I can help you round them up, no problem. Help you get back to your little adventure a little quicker." Kim stretched a little.

"Sure. We'd love the help." Kristoff shrugged.

And that's how the three trainers spent two hours chasing various pokemon around a forest. The end finally came when Anna jumped on the last Farfetch'd and successfully captured it in a bag.

"Haha!" Anna shouted victoriously. "I win!"

"I didn't know this was a competition." Kim said with a small grin. "If it was, I would've won."

"I think it's a tie between me and Anna. After all, we caught them." Kristoff replied holding up another bag with the other Farfetch'd. "But let's get back to the others. That way we can get moving. With any luck, we can get to the Day-Care by tomorrow afternoon."

"I'm all about that life!"

The trio began a brief trek back towards Azalea Town, where Pinocchio and Jiminy still waited. This time, joined by an older man Anna could only assume was Geppetto.

"See! I told you they'd find them!" Pinocchio spoke loudly, though relieved as he pointed at Anna and Kristoff.

"Kim? It's been awhile. What have you been up to?" Jiminy asked as his young friend approached. "Let me guess…"

"Things and stuff." The entire group said simultaneously.

"Do I say it that often?" Kim asked sheepishly.

"Yes." Anna and Kristoff said in tandem as they passed the bird Pokemon over to their rightful owner.

"I guess I'm pretty predictable then…" She said with a sheepish grin. Her Pokegear chimed and Kim quickly looked at the message. "Well, looks like I gotta run. Got some business popping up." She said with a light blush on her face.

"Have fun!" Anna called out while she watched Kim run off.

"Here. Accept this gift for helping retrieve my Farfetch'd." Geppetto said, handing over a disc.

"HM 01. Cut." Kristoff identified the item as it passed from the old man's hands to Anna's. "I bet your Sandshrew could learn that."

"Thank you, Geppetto!" Anna said as she tucked the HM away for the time being. This was the second HM that they had received. They proved to be quite useful.

"Good luck on your journey. Please swing by again sometime." Jiminy said, with a tip of his hat.

"Thanks!" Kristoff called off before the pair headed on their way through the woods.

The two walked through the underbrush of the forest. They could hear bug Pokemon skittering around their feet, but the duo seemed more focused in getting through the forest. They had the occasional random encounter with a wild Pokemon, but they either hurried on their way, or achieved a quick and effortless victory.

Eventually they arrived at a small shrine in the middle of the forest. Surrounding the shrine were small offerings and flowers left by various travellers. Pokemon food had even been left, but none of the wild pokemon had touched it.

"Whoa Kris, look at this!" Anna said after her Sandshrew, Mole, had cut down a few trees blocking their path. "What do you reckon it is?"

Kristoff quickly ran up to the structure and then started walking around it. "I couldn't tell you." He answered after one turn. "I guess it's a shrine to the forest protector."

"What makes you say that?" Anna asked him.

"Because that's what is says right there." He replied, pointing to a metal plaque nailed to the shrine. _This shrine is dedicated to the Protector of the Ilex Forest._

"Oh." Anna said. "Let's take a selfie!"

"Hell yeah!" And so the two trainers stood in front of the shrine and grinned. Joan jumped up and placed her front Paws on Anna's head. Sven slipped his massive head between Anna's and Kristoff's and then Anna snapped the picture with her PokeGear.

"Awesome. Send that to me!" Kristoff said as they admired the picture.

"HEY!"

The random shout drew the duo's attention away from their picture and towards a pair of men headed their way. One looked like quite the meathead, absurdly muscular and fairly good-looking. Probably self-absorbed. The other was short and pudgy with a big nose. He trailed behind the bigger man like a Remoraid to a Mantine.

"I wanna talk to you two!" The larger man said.

"Yeah! He wants to talk to you two!" The pudgy man repeated.

Anna and Kristoff both shared a look of confusion. "Can we help you?" Anna finally asked them.

"Imagine the scene…" The pudgy man said overdramatically. "The great Gaston, local hero of Azalea Town, returns from business in Goldenrod to discover that Team Rocket has returned to muck with his hometown! As fast as he can, he rushes to the Slowpoke Well… only to discover that _somebody_ has somehow cleared out the Rockets! And then he hears that Geppetto's Farfetch'd are loose! So Gaston rushes off, tirelessly searching the entirety of Ilex Forest… only to find that _somebody_ has already caught both of them, rendering his hard work completely pointless!"

Anna and Kristoff both looked at each other. "Well you're welcome I guess. Now you can go take a rest or something."

"Yeah, go enjoy your nap or whatever." Kristoff added, trying to get a move on. With all the delays that he and Anna had, they wouldn't be making it to the Day-Care until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.

"Now hold on there!" The pudgy man shouted as the duo tried to turn away. "No one steals Gaston's thunder!"

"I can speak for myself, LeFou." Gaston interrupted, stepping forward. "You must think you're some big shot, coming in while I'm away and trying to take my place in this town."

"Dude. We were just trying to get a Gym battle. Kim did mostly everything." Anna replied in a clipped tone. This guy was starting to annoy her.

"...Who's Kim?" LeFou asked.

"One of Belle's 'friends', I think." Gaston muttered over to the smaller man. He then turned back to Anna and Kristoff. "That's not the point! The point is I'm challenging you to a battle, right now! You're gonna pay for making me waste my time, running around this forest and the Slowpoke Well!"

"No one can win a battle like Gaston!" LeFou shouted, like some kind of cheerleader.

"Uh…?" Anna looked over to Kristoff, but he instantly took a step back.

"Aw hell no, Feisty Pants, you can take care of this one." He told her while shaking his head. Even Sven shook his head.

As if to show how serious he was, Gaston unleashed a male Nidoran from a Pokeball.

"Scared to face Gaston? Of course you are!" LeFou taunted.

Anna groaned. Why did this have to happen to them? "Whatever fine." She mumbled out. She withdrew a Pokeball from her pack and sent it flying. "Bring it, Mole!" Anna told the Sandshrew. At least Mole would stand a decent chance against a Nidoran, being a ground type.

"Hurry up and kick his ass so we can go." Kristoff said in his best sarcastic cheerleader voice that he could manage.

"Alright, Mole! Let's start this off." Anna growled. Before she could call out a move, Gaston shouted.

"Horn attack!" Gaston ordered. The Nidoran charged forward, charging into the Sandshrew to strike with all it's might.

"Mole! Defense Curl!" Anna shouted. The pokemon rolled up into a little armored ball. The Nidoran's attack hit, but thanks to the tough body plating on Mole, it mostly was brushed off to the side. Mole did roll away a little bit from the impact.

"Don't let up!" Gaston shouted orders as Nidoran turned for a second charge. Once again, it barely caused visible damage, and Mole rolled around the battlefield from the impact like a ball in a pinball game.

"Mole! Use Magnitude!" Anna called out with a grin on her face. The Sandshrew bounced a little off the ground and came back down hard, causing the area to shake a little and rocks to burst up from the ground. Unfortunately for Gaston's Nidoran, one rock burst up from directly underneath it. In a series of unfortunate events, the Nidoran landed on a clear spot from which another rock burst up, sending it flying for a second time.

"Get back up and use poison sting!" Gaston called to his weakened Nidoran.

"...But isn't that ineffective?" LeFou asked on the sidelines.

"Yes. But it may poison the little runt anyway." Gaston sighed.

"Wow! No one knows battle strategy like Gaston!" LeFou cheered. Gaston slapped a palm to his face as his Nidoran fired spines towards the Sandshrew.

Much to Gaston's displeasure, Mole was not poisoned. Anna had the pokemon quickly retaliate with Rollout, sending his Nidoran flying back into one of the jagged stones, effectively knocking it out.

"What else you got, loser?" Anna taunted the man from her position.

"Machop, let's go!" Gaston growled, sending out his next pokemon.

"Anna stop toying with him." Kris moaned, now leaning against the forest shrine. "Hurry up."

"Machop! Handle that rat!" Gaston called out.

"I… I think it's a-" LeFou started before a heavy fist descended upon the top of his head.

Machop charged for the Sandshrew, scooping the rolling Pokemon up as it charged towards him. With a little grin on it's face, it dribbled his opponent around like a basketball before slamming it back into the ground at Anna's feet. It then flexed before her with a wink.

"Mole!" The pokemon did it's best to stand, but even Anna knew that it was hopeless. He was far too weak to go on much longer. "Oh fine. Come on back." She quickly traded out pokemon and soon Arthur was in the game.

The Growlithe gave an intimidating bark to the Machop and then bared it's teeth. The Machop put up it's fists, ready to fight.

"Tackle it down!" Gaston called. Machop rushed forward, but Arthur jumped out of the way, causing Machop to fall face-first into a mud puddle. Enraged and embarrassed, Machop blindly struck at Arthur's general location, not connecting with a single hit.

"Arthur! Ember!" The pokemon nodded and let forth a stream of fire. With Machop's face still being covered in mud, it barely saw the flames coming and could not get out of the way in time.

"Walk it off, and get back to it!" Gaston ordered as he pulled open a satched.

"Gaston, it looks like he's got a nasty burn!" LeFou pointed at the weakened Machop.

"Well, he'll just have to wait until I figure out which berry helps burns!" Gaston shouted in LeFou's face as he carefully examined each of the berries.

"While he's doing that, Bite that burn!" Anna called out with a grin. She was totally going to win this. How this guy is the 'great local hero' or whatever of Azalea Town was beyond her. Did anyone even like him?

Arthur latched onto Machop's shoulder and spun around, tossing the Machop towards Gaston.

"Found it!" Gaston announced as the fainted Machop landed at his feet. Looking up, he could see Arthur offer a playful bark as he wagged his tail.

"Alright, that's it!" Gaston roared as he unleashed a third and final Pokemon: a Tauros.

"Oh shit." Anna mumbled, eyes widening at the massive pokemon. Where the fuck did this guy get a Tauros? "Arthur! Ember, quick!"

The puppy pokemon leaped back and let out a second stream of fire. This one more powerful than the last. The Tauros ignored the fire completely, running through it to ram the Growlithe with a powerful headbutt.

"Don't let up! Ramming speed!" Gaston called as his Tauros furiously snorted and prepared for another charge.

"Oh yeah?" Anna shouted, "Bite it's legs Arthur!"

Arthur tried to time it, and managed to dodge the attack, but missed the bull's legs. When he tried to repeat the attack, the same thing happened.

Seeing that the only way for Arthur to get a clear attack in would be for the small pokemon to stand it's ground, Anna quickly withdrew Arthur and sent Joan into the fray. At least her companion would be able to handle a raging Tauros or two.

"New target, same rules! Charge!" Gaston ordered as his Tauros continued its rampage and rushed towards Joan.

"Good." Anna mumbled. "Grasswhistle, Joan!" The trainer called with a victorious grin. Leaves sprouted from around the pokemon and Joan snagged one between her paws. With a gentle blow, a soft melody sounded and started putting the charging Tauros to sleep. The Pokemon landed fast asleep in a tangled clump of legs right at Joan's paws, snoring loudly.

"Got ya." Anna muttered to herself. "Alright Joan, take care of it. Magical Leaf!"

"Wake up!" Gaston shouted to his Tauros as the leaves struck it. Immediately, the Tauros opened it's eyes, glaring daggers at Joan. "Not get up and take that runt down!"

"While it's down, Sword Leaf Combo!" Anna told the Pokemon with a smile. The combo in question was the move Swords Dance, followed up with a rather sharp Razor Leaf. Both attacks hit their mark, but the Taruos returned to his feet nonetheless.

"Attaboy! Ramming speed!" Gaston clapped for his Tauros who rushed in circles to build up momentum. Despite looking in rough shape, the bull's rage kept it at peak strength.

"Oh for the love of- Joan! Magical Leaf again! Knock it to the floor!" Joan nodded and sent a massive burst of sharpened leaves toward the bull Pokemon. With any luck, Joan could knock out the Pokemon before it landed a solid hit on her. Obviously that wasn't in the cards for them.

While the leaves connected, Tauros showed no signs of slowing and rammed into Joan at top speed, sending her into Kristoff and knocking him over.

"Hey! Watch it!" Kristoff shouted, picking up Joan and placing her gently on the ground next to him.

"Sorry Kris!" Anna shouted. "Joan, use Giga Drain!" The hit was a strong one, but not enough to put Joan in the same shape that the Tauros was in. But this would patch her right back up while sucking the energy from the Tauros.

Vines extended from Joan and wrapped themselves tightly around the massive tauros. The two pokemon glowed brightly for a moment and then the next moment, Gaston's Tauros had slumped over in defeat.

Gaston and LeFou were silent for a solid minute.

"...Well. At least no one saw that." LeFou commented.

"I thought I told you to stop toying, Anna." Kristoff said, getting up from the ground. "That would have gone twice as fast with Joan."

Anna shrugged. "I figured that Mole and Arthur would want a chance to fight. We are Pokemon Trainers."

Gaston recalled his Tauros and pointed an angry finger at Anna, "You wait. I'm going to avenge this embarrassment."

"No one avenges like Gaston!" LeFou shouted as he followed behind Gaston.

"...Those guys are weird." Kristoff commented.

"Agreed." Anna mumbled. "Let's go. Maybe if we run, we can get there at a reasonable time?"

"I'm not running."

"It was worth a shot." Anna replied.

* * *

The next day Anna and Kristoff had arrived at the Day-Care in the late afternoon. After travelling for so long, Bulda and pabbie had prepared them a large dinner. The two ate everything they could before going to sleep in actual beds.

Later that night in Goldenrod, Elsa noticed a voicemail on her PokeGear. Sighing, she picked it up and held it to her face.

" _Hey Elsa! It's been awhile so I thought I should call. So now I have two badges! I fought Flik and won, like super easy. Arthur totally kicked butt! I also caught a Sandshrew and named it Mole. We also fought Team Rocket… Did you know that they're back? Is that why you haven't come back? Are they after you!? Oh who am I kidding, you won't answer me. Just be careful. Bulda and Pabbie said they're gonna take us into Goldenrod City tomorrow! I remember you said it was cool so I'm excited. Okay, I'm tired. Night Elsa… please call me or do something so I know you're alive…"_ The message clicked off and Elsa threw the offending item down on a side table.

At that moment there was a knock on Elsa's door. She hesitated slightly but then went to open it.

"You would not believe what just happened!" A redhead grumbled while stomping into the house.

"Yes, hello Hans. Please, come in." Elsa replied sarcastically before closing the door.

Hans collapsed on the couch, covered his head with a pillow and groaned into it. "Elsa everything went so wrong!"

Well that was never good. Slowly Elsa came around and took a seat in a chair facing the couch. She picked up two glasses of wine on the way and left one for her companion.

"Drink." She ordered him before pouring her own glass. "I'm sure we both need it."

Hans threw the pillow away and then took the glass. "Good taste." He commented before taking a sip. "So. Where should I- oh my God what happened to your hair?" He nearly dropped the glass but caught it last second.

"Focus Hans. What happened?" Elsa responded in an exasperated tone. She ran her fingers through her now darkened locks. It was part of the ways Elsa was hiding her identity. It was still new to her and still made her jump when she looked at a mirror.

"Well. Like we guessed, Suicune didn't purify the water." Hans started. Though they both knew that was because Elsa had told the Pokemon not to do so. "Then Kim came along!"

"Say what now?" Kim Possible was not in the plan. "I told her it was under control!" Elsa growled. She grabbed her PokeGear and was about to type out a furious message when Hans kept going.

"Oh but it gets better!" The man grumbled. "Not only did Kim come but she brought some friends. You'll never guess who they were." The redhead grumbled while glaring at Elsa.

"Something tells me that I am really going to to hate what you say next." Elsa mumbled, looking away for a moment. "Hold on." She downed the rest of her wine and then set the glass down on the end table. "Alright, tell me."

"She brought Anna and the blonde fellow. Kristoffer, right?"

"She did what!?" Elsa screamed now standing up in a rage. Out of nowhere, a Banette materialized right in front of Elsa as if to protect her from Hans.

"Oh! Banette no! It's ok. I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you!" Elsa cooed to the Pokemon. She slid back down into her seat and gestured for her new partner to join her. "I'm sorry I scared you. Don't worry, Hans is a friend to us."

"Nice new partner, Lizette." Hans quipped. "I heard your song the day I had to clear out the well. It's catchy."

"Banette and I make a good team." Elsa replied with a smile. "Don't we?" The Pokemon gave a happy chirp as confirmation.

"Cute. But anyway, somehow Kim and Anna fought through the well to get to me. Thankfully Kim fought me and we caused enough of a smokescreen that I got away without being seen." Hans explained. "But seriously. I know Kim is in charge in Johto but we will be caught if she rushes in like this!"

"I'll talk to her." Elsa promised. "I can't believe Anna got involved…" Yes she could. Anna was her sister and Elsa had thwarted Team Rocket with Hans during her own journey.

"We did the same thing when we started our journey." Hans mumbled, swirling the wine in his glass. "But it can't happen again. I had everything worked out so that Gaston would come and be victorious. He was supposed to do it the very next day!"

"I know, Hans. It was a good plan." Elsa replied, trying to calm him down.

"Kim cannot do this to us again!" Hans told her. "We have too much to lose!"

Didn't she know it. They didn't just stay with Team Rocket to keep themselves safe. The Duke was blackmailing them and keeping the two in his clutches with threats against their friends and families.

"I'll talk to her. And I'll tell her to keep Anna out of this. Or work does not concern her." Elsa promised. "Want to come crash with me? I haven't been able to sleep."

"Yeah. Just keep your cold feet off me." Hans mumbled. "Sure your boyfriend won't mind?" He joked out.

"You are disgusting." Elsa replied while giggling slightly. "And we are not dating."

"Tell that to the tabloids." Hans mumbled, getting to his feet. The young man finished the last of his wine and followed Elsa.

The two headed back and slipped into Elsa's large bed. At first they stayed on their own side of the bed, but after a minute, Hans pulled Elsa into an awkward hug.

"I talked to Entei." He finally said. "He was going to see if Raikou and Suicune would be willing to watch over Anna. Just to see if they're alright."

"That will put those three in more danger." Elsa pointed out. While it was sweet that the legendary dogs were willing to watch over Elsa's sister, she didn't want them to be caught. She and Hans had risked too much for them to be caught.

"Entei still wants to try. He knows what's been happening so far. Says it's the least that they could do for us." Hans explained to her. "Also Suicune went back to fix the water. It's all good now. He's worried about you."

"I'm fine. Just spending my days singing, putting Rockets in the Radio Tower and all over the city. I forgot how hard being famous is." Elsa joked out weakly. After being the Johto Champion and Runner Up, Elsa and Hans were always in the public spotlight up until they supposedly died. "I think Snowflake has been enjoying the massages and pampering though."

"Well you better cut back. Anna is on her way to Goldenrod." Hans told her. "And she knows what Snowflake looks like better than anyone. Except maybe me."

"I know. I'll have to rearrange my schedule so that I can do my best to avoid her. Now I guess it's time for a new wardrobe." With Anna coming to town, Elsa definitely would need it.

"Does that mean a shopping spree?" Hans asked, eager to get some clothes that weren't Team Rocket related.

"Do you want to come?" Elsa teased him.

"Not if you're going to be like that." He mumbled, pushing her away.

"Go to bed. I'll talk to Cruella tomorrow." The woman told him before curling up on her side of the bed.

"And Kim." He reminded her quickly.

"Yeah. That too..."


End file.
